The Greens of the Pacific Northwest

Barely 24hrs prior, I was slogging along an uneven ridge on the High Divide in Olympic National Park, with views of Mt Olympus on one side, and an amalgamation of green valleys and mountain ranges leading to the Pacific on the other side. The hot late summer day and the lack of shade made hauling a 35lb pack all the more excruciating, but the scenery more than made up for it.

But the very next day, I found myself in a green haven, hiking through lush vegetation down one of the valleys along a leafy trail that followed the gurgling sounds of a life-giving creek. Tall conifers shared the canopy with vine maples and broad-leaved oaks while the undergrowth was dense with idyllic ferns and vanilla leaves, with huckleberry shrub loaded with juicy ripe berries spread all over.

A few hours in, the sound of rushing water, far more intense than the gurgle, caught my attention. Following it through the undergrowth, I came across this beautiful cascade where the creek wound its way through a leafy canyon. Barely any light filtered through, leading to a soft and mellow scene. It was a welcome respite from the prior twos of hiking in unbearably hot weather.

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Olympic National Park
WA USA

A Forest visit

In the silence, I could hear every twig on my feet, every rustle on the leaf, every squawk by a squirrel, every flutter by a bird, and every beam of sunlight that scintillated through the trees. I stopped, hoping to capture silence, while a minute passed by, and then a few more. I lost track of time as I stood in awe of the dense forest with its mossy green trunks and lush vegetation covering every square inch all around.

It was a late morning in the heart of Olympics National Park, and I was making my way through a temperate rain-forest that is ubiquitous in the eastern lowlands of the park. The yellow sunlight (courtesy of a forest-fire somewhere) lent a warm quality to the green vegetation, making the foliage appear ever so photogenic. I scouted around for a few choice compositions, but the heavy pack and the fact that others in my group were waiting for me to catch up meant that I had to be quick about it. I finally lined up one composition with the sunlight peering through the trees for a starburst effect, which I captured at ISO 3200, 1/5s at F18

Olympic National Park
WA USA

Heading: North

It was a bright moonlit night high up in the mountains of the Olympic National Park. The silence of the still night was only broken by the sounds of hooves treading the ground as stealthy deer grazed in the grassy meadow all around me. But under the full moon, even the deer could not stay hidden for long. And I was keeping a close watch on them, for the last thing I wanted was one of them wandering into the tripod and knocking the camera that was shooting this image.

The bright moonlight had made it challenging to find a suitable composition for shooting the night sky. The horizon was bright, not from moonlight, but from the setting sun, while high above, all but the brightest stars laid hidden from both me and my camera. Wandering around, I finally spotted a grove of trees pointing up towards the Pole star; it was as though nature herself had stretched out her arms to point me to the north. And the near full moon had ensured that these still denizens of the forest would not stay invisible.

I shot a total of 17 exposures, each5 min long at F8, ISO 800 to capture this moonlit star-trails.

Olympic National Park
WA USA